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indigoimpulse's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
i actually really liked the fact that briseis wasn’t a perfect character and that she’s so judgemental of others around her, men and women alike - i feel like given her circumstances you can’t exactly expect her to act like a saint . her narration was very raw which i found gave her personality .
however the book promised me a story from briseis’ pov so i didn’t really appreciate so much of the book being taken up by achilles’ pov - this author writes grief excellently so his sections were great but it kind of took away from the fact that this was supposed to be briseis’ story . i don’t really think you can call this a feminist novel but i enjoyed it nonetheless
however the book promised me a story from briseis’ pov so i didn’t really appreciate so much of the book being taken up by achilles’ pov - this author writes grief excellently so his sections were great but it kind of took away from the fact that this was supposed to be briseis’ story . i don’t really think you can call this a feminist novel but i enjoyed it nonetheless
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Pedophilia, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Torture, Blood, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Gore
babblingbooks's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Slavery, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Blood, Rape, Vomit, Excrement, Alcohol, Animal death, Gore, Death, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Cursing, and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent and Torture
sullyvan's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Vomit, Torture, and Slavery
kttylatte's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
4.25
i can’t put into words how beautiful yet saddening this book was. barker manages to write in such an amazing way, and directly speaks to the audience too which i love. because of her writing, i felt sympathy for achilles, even after reading about how much of a horror he was. there’s nothing more i love than a retelling of a greek myth from the perspective of a woman!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, and Torture
preciouslittleingenue's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I have very complicated feelings about this book. On the one hand, it is very much a self-proclaimed woman-centered retelling of the horrific realities that everyone glosses over of war in general and ancient war in particular. But on the other hand...it is simply not entirely woman-centered. Because about a third of the book is written from Achilles's point of view. You know. The man who is the abductor and rapist of the main character. I cannot for the life of me fathom why this was done. It left a very sour taste in my mouth when I heard a man introduce himself as one of the audiobook narrators. Because in this story, the way that Pat Barker acts like she intended for it to be, there should be NO men at the center, EVER. Barker literally undermines and undoes her own entire point for writing this novel. And I'm not the only one who thinks this. It boggles the brain.
To add more insult to injury on that front: I didn't write down any specifics, but there were deliberate references to Achilles and Patroclus's story as a romance, and perhaps even a "this is not a romance, it's a horror story" type line. I definitely got the vibe that this and other similar lines were meant to throw shade at The Song of Achilles (published 2012, while TSOTG is published 2018). It was truly almost like Barker read TSOA and had a direct, visceral reaction, which came out in the form of TSOTG. Except...she did the exact same thing that she seems to hold Miller in such contempt for. If Barker hated that Miller made the bloody, horrific, women-torture machine that was the Trojan war into a soft, tragic romance, and by doing so took away from the reality and the tragedy of the women's suffering...then why was Achilles a main character with point of view? Why was Briseis silenced by the author in her own story? Nearly every single detail of plot that Achilles POV provided could have been Briseis. It's incredibly frustrating. Every time it cut away to Achilles, I could not wait to hear more about the women. Especially since this was written after TSOA, there is ENOUGH about his relationship to Patroclus and his grief over losing him. I don't care in the context of a book called The Silence of THE GIRLS. THE GIRLS. If Barker wanted to share with everyone her headcanon that Achilles has mommy issues...put that in another book and don't make me read disturbing passages about it that are used to facilitate rape in a story that's meant to be ABOUT THE GIRLS AND WOMEN.
Don't get me wrong. If Barker had written this as direct shade to TSOA, made all those references about how it's wrong to categorize the Trojan War tales as anything but bloody, rape-filled horror, and kept it woman-centered, I would have nothing to say. I recognize that TSOA, for all its poignant beauty, is man-centered. But the hypocrisy of seemingly wanting to "do better" than that and then literally doing almost the exact same, while claiming you're not...idk man it's a little too much hypocrisy for me. Really really bothers me.
Anyway. Now that that's out of the way, I don't regret reading this. Despite Barker's large misstep, it does shed light on a lot of things we often try not to think about when we think about the Trojan war and war-glory stories in general. The first five or so chapters were really. Hard. To get through. I thought I would have to DNF it, truly. Especially because I was so brainwashed by the gorgeous and soft telling by Miller. But once I got over that and learned what to expect, I was glad I hadn't put it down. Not that it got less horrific. Not at all.
Below the spoiler tabs I have listed the quotes that I absolutely had to write down that just sat like a punch to the gut. The absolute senselessness of war. The complete and utter hubris and idiocy of men, every single one of them. The beautiful enduring power of women, even tortured and/or about to be murdered. The way men literally don't think women are people. Lines that I just otherwise found hauntingly beautiful and poignant.
Chapter 3: “I didn’t feel like anything that might have a name.”
To add more insult to injury on that front: I didn't write down any specifics, but there were deliberate references to Achilles and Patroclus's story as a romance, and perhaps even a "this is not a romance, it's a horror story" type line. I definitely got the vibe that this and other similar lines were meant to throw shade at The Song of Achilles (published 2012, while TSOTG is published 2018). It was truly almost like Barker read TSOA and had a direct, visceral reaction, which came out in the form of TSOTG. Except...she did the exact same thing that she seems to hold Miller in such contempt for. If Barker hated that Miller made the bloody, horrific, women-torture machine that was the Trojan war into a soft, tragic romance, and by doing so took away from the reality and the tragedy of the women's suffering...then why was Achilles a main character with point of view? Why was Briseis silenced by the author in her own story? Nearly every single detail of plot that Achilles POV provided could have been Briseis. It's incredibly frustrating. Every time it cut away to Achilles, I could not wait to hear more about the women. Especially since this was written after TSOA, there is ENOUGH about his relationship to Patroclus and his grief over losing him. I don't care in the context of a book called The Silence of THE GIRLS. THE GIRLS. If Barker wanted to share with everyone her headcanon that Achilles has mommy issues...put that in another book and don't make me read disturbing passages about it that are used to facilitate rape in a story that's meant to be ABOUT THE GIRLS AND WOMEN.
Don't get me wrong. If Barker had written this as direct shade to TSOA, made all those references about how it's wrong to categorize the Trojan War tales as anything but bloody, rape-filled horror, and kept it woman-centered, I would have nothing to say. I recognize that TSOA, for all its poignant beauty, is man-centered. But the hypocrisy of seemingly wanting to "do better" than that and then literally doing almost the exact same, while claiming you're not...idk man it's a little too much hypocrisy for me. Really really bothers me.
Anyway. Now that that's out of the way, I don't regret reading this. Despite Barker's large misstep, it does shed light on a lot of things we often try not to think about when we think about the Trojan war and war-glory stories in general. The first five or so chapters were really. Hard. To get through. I thought I would have to DNF it, truly. Especially because I was so brainwashed by the gorgeous and soft telling by Miller. But once I got over that and learned what to expect, I was glad I hadn't put it down. Not that it got less horrific. Not at all.
Below the spoiler tabs I have listed the quotes that I absolutely had to write down that just sat like a punch to the gut. The absolute senselessness of war. The complete and utter hubris and idiocy of men, every single one of them. The beautiful enduring power of women, even tortured and/or about to be murdered. The way men literally don't think women are people. Lines that I just otherwise found hauntingly beautiful and poignant.
All that said...if it weren't for the Achilles POV, this could be a solid 4/5 or 4.5/5. But given how uncomfortable it made me and how ineffective and hypocritical it was...the Achilles POV takes it down to a 3. Won't be rereading, won't be purchasing for my shelf. And I feel no need to read either of the two sequels. But I am glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Gore, Sexual violence, War, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Misogyny
risaleel's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Sexual harassment, War, Child death, Violence, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Grief, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit
annasbookreviews's review
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Excrement, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and War
nats2643's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Torture, Self harm, Death, Sexual harassment, Rape, Violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, Murder, Suicide, and Grief
evelynepisodes's review
Found the book too disturbing for me. I wasn’t interested in a book about rape and murder. I’m happy for that to be a part of the book but not the overall theme of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Body horror, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, War, Blood, Rape, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Vomit
shonalikesreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Rape, Slavery, Child death, and Death